1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a handheld device and more particularly, to a handheld device having multiple near-field communication (NFC) reading directions.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the NFC antenna is developed, more and more handheld devices, such as mobile phones, are equipped with the NFC antennas to function as electronic tags or simulated credit cards. A conventional NFC antenna is usually mounted to an inner side of a back cover of the handheld device. Therefore, when a user intends to proceed with the service, such as simulated credit card, the user needs to aim the back cover of the handheld device at an external NFC device to make the NFC antenna inductively coupled with the external NFC device for data exchange. In the process of each data exchange, the user needs to make the NFC antenna face the same direction for inductive coupling with the external NFC. However, every user has his or her own custom and need and if the handheld device can provide different directions for inductive coupling, the operational convenience could be enhanced for the user.
In addition, back covers of some handheld devices are made of metal for the purpose of high-quality perception and design as a whole. The metallic back covers can though boost the thermal dissipation of the handheld device, but they lead to interference with the NFC antenna inductively coupled with the external NFC device for data exchange.